Fallen Hearts and More Profound Bonds
by Befreenow
Summary: Kind of AU? Destiel. Castiel is now enrolled at Lawrence High School, due to his family moving to Lawrence, Kansas, because of his father's business conquests. Castiel is usually a loner, but things don't go how Castiel plans as he is plunged into the confusing world of making friends, finding out not only what he is but who he is, believing, taking chances, and falling in love.
1. Everything New

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! So this is my first ever fanfic. I have really big hopes and plans for this story, so I will be editing/updating this story *hopefully* pretty frequently. I've been wanting to write one for a couple of months now, but I just recently started to develop a plot that I thought was worthy of writing about. I sincerely hope that I can make this a story worth reading, and I greatly appreciate any feedback/reviews/comments. Thank you! :)

~Befreenow

* * *

Castiel awoke in a state of daze, looking over to his simple alarm clock that read 6:30 a.m. _Ugh._ He thought. He was supposed to be at school in an hour. He pulled his sheets closer to himself, reveling in the warmth that his bed brought him. He didn't want to go to school today, or any day for that matter. Today was different, though, he would be attending a new school today.

He pushed the sheets off almost hesitantly, not wanting to venture outside the haven of his blankets. Castiel sighed, rubbing his eyes and taking in the new view around him. It startled him at first. It had been only a day since they moved in, and he hadn't quite gotten accustomed to the new layout that presented itself to him.

The walls of his room were a light tawny brown, and the boxes with all of his belongings he hadn't yet unpacked lay in a corner. His room looked simple, and he liked it that way. He had an ebony colored computer desk, barren except for the laptop that was rested atop it. Directly to the right of his desk was his bookshelf with nothing but his favorite collection of plays scattered amongst its shelves. Shakespeare was one of his favorite authors. The tragedy of human kind, and the way that human will always bound itself to succeed even though failure was closing upon it always intrigued him. He was human, of course, but he never allowed himself to actually partake in the everyday human activities… such as friends. No, people were finicky and he knew how easily they would turn on you, given the chance.

He sat upright in his bed, glancing at the bathroom. He did have his own bathroom now, which was a plus. He padded to his bathroom sleepily, gazing at himself in the mirror with a new sense of fear. The realization hit him that _he was going to a new school today_. He knew this, he had thought about it when he had first awoken, but now it was hitting him. Icy hands gripped his stomach, twisting it until he thought he would vomit. Castiel wasn't what anyone would call popular, or even social for that matter. At his old school he was ridiculed for being different, and therefore cast aside like he didn't exist. It didn't bother him that much, not after what had happened. Castiel shook his head, trying to focus on the problem right now. _You have school in almost an hour, _he chastised himself, _get yourself together, Castiel._

He looked into the mirror, appraising himself. He had a mess of thick raven hair, sticking up on all sides from his tossing in his sleep. He grimaced, wondering how he was going to tame the beast that was his hair. His complexion was a soft peachy pale, clear of any of the monstrosities that are pimples for now. He had a strong jawline that squared his face, giving it a soft but manly outline, which he had thankfully inherited from his father. His deep sapphire-blue eyes roamed his figure, picking out every detail his eyes found unsatisfactory. Which was, well, everything about himself if he was honest. He had never been the fascination of someone's eye, as far as he could tell. He had never even had a friend, much less a _lover_, which he presumed most people found very odd considering he was a junior in high school. He tried not to let that put him off more, considering he would be introduced to complete strangers today…_Oh come on, Castiel, no one is going to want to be friends with _you. _I mean look at you. You probably haven't spoken to anyone outside your family since-_"Stop it," Castiel commanded his train of thought with a gruff voice, coming out way too loud in the quiet of his bathroom this early in the morning. Castiel ran his hands through his hair roughly, which did not help the bed-head he was sporting.

"How am I supposed to get ready if I can't even see myself looking decent?" He growled at his reflection. He finally decided to just try and gel his hair into an upward swoop as best he could, carefully making sure most of the random spikes in his hair were smoothed down. He then adorned a pair of dark blue jeans and pulled on a plain navy t-shirt. After another round of anxiety hit him when he checked his mirror yet again, he decided to pull on a red plaid sweatshirt over his navy shirt, hoping to go for a classier look rather than an Ididntreallytrytoohardtoday look. At least he was color coordinated? His lips pulled up into a cynical grin and he let out a small laugh. _Yeah, this is going to be fun._

"Castiel? It's almost 7:15, you're going to be late if you don't get down here." His mother chided from the bottom of the stairs, interrupting his thoughts.

"I'm coming, mom." He choked out loud enough for her to hear as he shut his bedroom door with a click and rounding the corner to the stairs.

"There you are! Don't you look so handsome!" She smiled warmly at him, her warmth radiating through her face. She was a beautiful woman. Her locks of golden brown hair flowing just past her shoulders, and her stunning blue eyes shining brightly at him. He had her eyes. "A new day, a new school. I bet you're excited."

"Thrilled," he replied sarcastically, but light-hearted. "I'm not thirteen anymore, you know? I'm almost seventeen, mom," he said giving her a small smile. He didn't want her to know just how upset he was.

"Oh hush, you know you're always going to be my little Cassie," she almost sang. Her voice was soft and loving, holding onto everyone who heard it and embracing them in a motherly hug. He hated it when anyone called him 'Cassie,' but his mom was just trying to lighten the mood. She knew he hated school, but she didn't know why. This was the first time he would be going to a new school, which he figured was lucky. Castiel wasn't exactly sure what his father did, but he knew that everyone else his father worked with had already moved multiple times. Their lack of moving was probably due to the highly religious nature of his family. His mother and father were born and raised in Christian faith by their families, and they would carry their faith through to their deaths, he was sure.

His parents were from Layfette, Georgia, where you were born a Christian. It was a very lovely place, with rolling hills that felt as ancient as the Earth itself. Almost as if the hills could tell you a story of all the things they had seen or heard. His parents were very good people, always donating to the church and those less fortunate. Everyone loved them. His mother always had a heart for taking care of those who needed it, and his father had a solid shoulder that anyone could lean on. Well, that was, except for Castiel. He saw his father sometimes, to say the most. His father was busy. He understood. He had a lot to live up to, growing up in the Novak household.

His elder brother and sister were already off to college. Anna, with her signature burgundy flowing hair and style, was more or less more looked down upon by their father. She had decided to go to Vancouver, aspiring to be an artist. She was a free spirit, if anyone was. Castiel admired the way she knew what she wanted and went after it, with no care about how anyone else felt about it. He wished he could be that free. Anna had acquired this from their mother. Sarah, their mother, wasn't as free spirited now. She was a mother and she had responsibilities, but a glowing look would light her eyes when Anna was brought up. Gabriel was the comedian in his family. When he was in the room, everyone was laughing. Gabriel could even pull some chuckles from their father, Adriel, who was usually a pretty straightforward man, with no room for daydreams or fantasies. Gabriel had decided to go to San Francisco for school, taking some classes to build on his people skills to work on getting a degree in comedy or business. Castiel did not yet know what he wanted to do with his life. He was at a loss when it came to his future, and that made him even more anxious when he thought about school.

"Castiel?" His mother was gazing at him with a concerned look.

His attention snapped back to the present, and his stomach was doing flips. "Y-yeah? Sorry, I'm just tired," he lied. He couldn't fall back asleep now even if he wanted to.

"You should really try to get more sleep." Worry drew her eyebrows together.

"Yeah, yeah," he grinned though. While he was busy daydreaming the two had ended up in the kitchen, his mom throwing things in a lunch pouch. When she handed it to him he was confused. "Mom, you don't have to make my lunch, you know?" He felt guilty that she had been up preparing his lunch, especially since he was very capable of doing so himself.

"I didn't want you to be late, besides, a mom's got to treat her kid sometime." She replied with a grin that tugged at her laugh lines.

"Well… thank you, then," he smiled back, only this time it wasn't forced. That's when he heard the screeching brakes of the big yellow brick of dread now pulled to a stop at the front of his new house. Castiel's gut clenched again, but he had no time to think about his anxiety. He leaned in to give his mom a quick hug, the smell of soft vanilla flowing off of her. Then he ran to the door, snatching his coat from the coat rack as he burst into the cool autumn air.


	2. Freckles Among Other Things

**AN: **Hey guys! Sorry for the late update. I've been trying to work through the plot of this story in my head and on paper and it's going really great! I've been writing almost everyday and trying to edit/change/work on some things to hopefully make this story even better. I hope you enjoy chapter two!~ :)

~Befreenow

* * *

Castiel had burst out the door a little too fast, making his small frame topple over as he misjudged the last step down the walkway to his house. He crashed onto the unforgiving gravel and it bit into the skin of his knees, his jeans not cushioning any of the fall. He yelped softly, more out of embarrassment than out of pain. His face deeply reddened as he got to his feet quickly and paced to the school bus. He hung his head so as not to catch any glances as he boarded the bus, peeking up just enough to realize that most of the people on the bus were either too busy listening to their music on their devices or too enthralled with their own conversations. His blush faded a little as he let out a sigh of relief, taking an empty seat toward the back of the bus.

He caught a few curious glances but he would quickly turn his head to gaze out the window, pretending he didn't notice. That was, until a charismatic redhead plopped onto the seat in front of him, fixing him with her stare as she smiled. "Hi, my name is Charlie. You must be new here," she cocked her head to the side. "What's your name?"

Castiel faltered. _What? Is she talking to me? _He tried to grasp his voice but it came out too shrill, even for his usual deep voice, "U-uhm…do you mean me?" He asked incredulously.

She giggled. "_Doh_, who else would I be talking to? You're backpack?"

He glanced at his backpack, worn with age, and shrugged, "I don't know, I feel like it could have a pretty charming personality." He didn't know where his people skills suddenly came from, but the girl laughed and her hair brushed against her face, copper highlights catching in the morning sun. Castiel smiled, relaxing a bit.

"You've got some spunk about you- what was your name?" She questioned him again.

"My name is Castiel," he replied, this time without delay. Something about her good-natured personality made him feel okay with conversation, although he usually did not talk to well…anyone really.

"Castiel, huh? That's an odd name," but she smiled.

"Uh, yeah…I am actually named after an angel," he explained, looking up at her questioningly. _Why is she bothering to talk to _me?

"Oh, that's actually pretty cool. Hey, so uhm… are you okay?" Castiel was confused by this question, and he gave her a quizzical look. She looked down, almost seeming embarrassed as she whispered, "You know… I kind of saw you fall back there."

Castiel's blush returned and he stammered, "O-oh yeah… that. I am okay"

"Oh, okay, I just wanted to make sure. We should hang out sometime and get to know each other. I can introduce you to some of my friends?" She fixed him with a hopeful friendly look that Castiel was not used to in the least. He wasn't sure how to respond, and when he hesitated she added, "I mean, if you want to."

Castiel's chest tightened at the idea of meeting more people, he wasn't even used to this much attention. After watching her reaction, he didn't want to hurt her feelings, so he replied, "Yes, sure. I would not mind that." She brightened up and she asked for his schedule, which he produced for her after rummaging through his backpack.

She quickly made note of his schedule and handed it back to him. "Well, we only have fourth period and lunch together, but I can show you where your first period is?" Castiel declined the offer as nicely as he could. He didn't know how to handle all the extra attention and it made him uneasy, but it also stirred a feeling inside him that he could not place. So she smiled and waved as she headed to her class after he reassured her that he would make it to his first period okay and that he would see her at lunch.

Castiel sighed, _what have I gotten myself into? _He barely spoke to anyone, especially for any amount of time. Why had she taken an interest in him? He had never gotten attention at his old school and that was what he was used to. Solitude.

He probably should have let Charlie show him where his first period was, he realized all too late. The bustling hallways were full of teens either trying to get to class, trying to find their friends, gathered in groups talking, or just digging through their lockers trying to find whatever it is that they were looking for. Anxiety gripped him worse in crowds, and here he was pacing the hallways trying desperately to find his classroom surrounded by people. _Just breathe._ He inhaled deeply, not watching where he was going as he rounded a corner sharply and ran smack into a guy who looked as deep in thought as he did. Well, until he ran into him.

Castiel had rounded the corner a little too sharply, lost in his own mind, as he crashed into the body in front of him. A huff came out as his binder met with his abdomen, sending the air out of his lungs. The body was strong, but gave way with Castiel's weight, sending both of them toppling over. Castiel landed awkwardly against a locker, luckily catching most of the fall with his hands pressed against the cool metal. The hard, glossy floor grazed against the already raw skin of his knees, making him grind his teeth to halt any noise from escaping his throat. Castiel's face reddened as his gaze locked with the hand that was outstretched toward him, then his eyes traveled to the face of who it belonged to.

"Hey, you alright man?" The voice was husky, but light with laughter. Shockingly green eyes locked with Castiel's ocean-blues. Castiel swallowed uncomfortably, taking in the man's face, which was sturdy but handsome. Laugh lines crinkled at the corners of his sparkling green eyes.

Castiel noticed he was hesitating so he quickly reached for the stranger's hand. The contact of their hands pressing together was electrifying, making Castiel's blush deepen. "T-thank you. Sorry," Castiel sputtered. The man's face turned confused, looking lost in thought as his gaze probed Castiel's blue eyes with curiosity. Castiel swiftly offered, "For running into you?"

The man's mossy eyes snapped into focus as he scratched his short crop of dark blond hair, "Nah, don't worry about it." He flashed a grin, his pearly whites showing. His smile faltered when his eyes fell upon Castiel's knees. Blood was pooling in small dark specks, littering the fabric of Castiel's jeans with bloody freckles and staining there. These were Castiel's favorite jeans. "Shit man," the blond sputtered, "what the hell happened to your knees?" Horror struck the man's face and he ran his tongue over his bottom lip in a nervous habit. "Did I do that?" He nodded to indicate Castiel's knees.

"O-oh no! I fell on my way to the bus." He replied shortly, feeling embarrassed. He could feel the blood trickling out of his skin. He must have fallen harder than he thought.

"Why didn't you go to the nurse?" The man replied, his green eyes questioning.

"Well, it's not that big of a deal, really-" Castiel faltered as the man fixed him with an incredulous look. "Honestly…" Castiel started, "I'm new here and I don't even know where to begin to look."

That was all it took. The man's strong hand gripped Castiel's elbow, guiding him through the crowded hallways of Lawrence High. Castiel's heart was beating erratically against his ribcage at the warmth of the hand, strong but soft, on his arm. The man looked over and locked gazes with Castiel, his face drawing together guarded as his gruff voice broke out, "So, what's your name?"

Castiel felt like he had just gotten off a roller coaster. All of this… this kindness? He honestly didn't know how to feel and it was overwhelming him. His stomach was in knots as he slowly returned the man's gaze. "Castiel. My name is Castiel Novak." He replied as calmly as he could manage, trying to sound more collected than he truly felt.

The man grinned, his green eyes bright as he noted, "Well, that's an odd name. Castiel?" Castiel shook his head to indicate 'yes' and the guy nodded, contemplating something that Castiel wasn't aware of. He then looked back up at Castiel, his lips twitching into a half-grin as he spoke again, "My name is Dean. Dean Winchester." He reiterated Castiel's own words, replacing Castiel's name with his own in a light banter.

Castiel's breath faltered, but he found himself grinning. He held Dean's gaze as he replied with a smirk, "Nice to meet you, Dean Winchester."

"Yeah, nice to meet you too, Castiel." Dean halted, and patted Castiel on the back, nodding toward a door on their left. "There's the nurse's office." Castiel hadn't even been paying attention to their surroundings, his attention and curiosity had been focused on Dean himself. It was rare for Castiel to be too enthralled with anything except reading to not notice anything else. Looking up at the brass plate that read 'Nurse's Office' adjacent to the door, his jaw tightened with fear. Dean noticed the slight alteration in Castiel's appearance. "Hey, you okay?" Dean inquired, watching the blue-eyed boy's face.

Castiel suddenly felt self-conscious of the green eyes boring into him, so he looked down slightly and mumbled, "Uh, yeah…" Castiel glanced back up and met another incredulous stare, so he added sheepishly, "I'm just even more lost now." He then felt as if the little strings on the fringes of his jacket were very interesting, pulling at them in an offhanded way.

Dean chuckled, his eyes crinkling just above the freckles that were almost transparent on his slightly tanned skin, but now Castiel couldn't help but notice them. "Don't worry, man," Dean's lips pulled into a half-grin as he gave Castiel a reassuring look, drawing Castiel's focus back to Dean's green eyes. "How about this:" Dean began, "I skip class and stay here with you, and after the nurse gives you the okay then we can find your next class?"

Castiel didn't like the idea of missing his first class on his first day here, but upon glancing down and realizing his pants were now glued to his knees where the tiny spots of blood were he shrugged. Lifting his gaze back to meet Dean's, he smiled, "Okay, that sound like a plan."


End file.
